Spike



M.'K. SESSLER.

SPIKE. l .APPLICTION FILED MAIL 6,1919.

Patented June 7 v zvfgNo/e Pff@ Afro/neways Af y@ U N i T E STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARCEL n. sEssLEE, OE NEW YORK, N. Y., AssIGNOR. To AMERICAN SPIKE COMPANY INCORPORATED, OE NEW YORK, N. Y., A CONPORATioN or NEW YORK.

SPIKE.

essaies.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 7, 1921.

Application led March 6, 1919. Serial No. 281,014.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Bc it known that I, MARCEL K. SEssLER, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York city, county and State of NewlYork, have invented an Improvement in Spikes, of which the following is a specification.

Spikes, and in particular railway spikes, have been provided heretofore with spiral fins to resist the outward pull tending to withdraw them from their seats in the ties or other wooden structures into which 4they have been driven. The object of the present invention is to provide a spike (or nail) of this type which will not substantially drag the fibers of the Wood when being driven, which when driven will not only offer great resistance to outward pull but will not tend to enlarge its seat or socket in the wood and thereby become loose, and which will protect its seat or socket from weather conditions which tend to work destructive decay of the wood through these seats oi' sockets.

In the drawings, where one embodiment of the invention is illustrated,

Figure l is a view in elevation of my improved spike;

Fig. 2 is a plan view as seen from the point thereof;

f Fig 3 is a plan view as seen from the head, and

Fig. `4lis an enlarged sectional view through the shank.

Referring first to the shank taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 of the spi-ke which, in the present embodiment, terminates in a conical point A at one end and a cylindrical throat B at the other, it will be observed that said shank has four faces C separated or divided from each other by four spirally extending fins D. The pitch of these spiral fins is preferably as shown in the drawings, that is, one which will give to the spike as driven a twist or rotative movement of substantially forty-live degrees (45) this is sufficient to givel great holding power while a greater twist is apt to tear the fibers of the wood.

The faces C are arcuated (convexlyh curved) instead of being made plane sur'- faces. Such curved faces will have a tendency at each separate blow given to the spike during driving which produces a combined thrust and rotary movement, to compress the wood fibers rather than to drag, abrade or tear them. This compression, morover, resists the passage of moisture to the wood fibers in the spikes driven path.

These curved faces also present a greater area o f contact between the wood fibers and the spike than plane surfaces would do and therefore increase the holding power of the spike. At the head end of the spike, said curved faces are gradually molded into and disappear in the throat B.

Fach fin D is an extension of one of the adjacent curved faces C, the latter being rounded to form a round shoulder E which constitutes one side of the fin, the other side F being a plane surface, that is, flat transversely, which forms a relatively sharp edge G with the rounded extension or shoulder E and an obtuse angular channel H with the other adjacent face C. It is important in forming the plane sides F to have these sides sufficiently inclined toward the channels H so that the edges G will resist any tendency to counter-rotation of the spike by cutting into the fibers of the wood instead of simply scraping the fibers. For this purpose each side G `may be inclined slightly forward of the radial drawn through the apex of the angle (as shown in Fig. 4 by the broken line drawn to indicate the radial). To make more apparent the preferred construction of the angular channels, the tangent to one of the curved faces C at the apex of the angle is also indicated by a broken line in Fig. 4. This tangent, as will be observed, is substantially perpendicular to the corresponding side F; but since the curved face recedes from the tangent, the practical effect and advantage of an obtuse angle is given to the construction. This effect and advantage is to allow the wood fibers more naturally to settle back into the channels (than would be the case if the angle of the channels were acute) after a sudden blow of the driving maul has caused the fins of the spike to ride over said fibers as the spike advances.

lVhen a spike of the construction just described has been driven home into a tie or other wooden structurel and the fibers of the Wood have settled back into the angular channels thereof, it will have little tendency to loosen in its seat, even under constant vibration, since the counter-rotative forces will cause the edges G to bite into theA fibers rather than to scrape on them; and yet, with the sides F disposed as shown in Fig. 4, there will be a minimum of rupturing of the wood fibers when the spike is forcibly extracted as in the .re-laying of the rail.

' plies as Well to nails as to I l At thethroat and at the conicalpoint of. the tie, the fins fade away gradually; and

thus, in. introducing the spike into the Wood,

the conical point eases its entrance by the gradual introduction of the fins; and moreover, ythe conical form compresses rather than cuts the fibers. Since the throat B is cylindrical, it Will effectively close the paths in the tie produced by the fins in the shank I 10 fduring driving and thus resist the introductop of the headY is slightly raised in order to present a hitting surface to themaul which raised portion is curved at thebottom to resist the flowof metal WhichWould tendto be produced 4by themaul.

'Since it is obvious that the invention apspikers, it Will be understood that the term generic rather than specific.

I claim as my invention:

1. A spike having a conveXly curved face and a spiral fin, one side of the finbeing rounded transversely and the other side of the fin forming an obtuse angular channel Withsaid convexly curved face. l

2. A spike having a convexly curved face and a spiral fin, one side of the 1in being a rounded extension of the surface of the spike and the other side forming a relatively sharp edge with said rounded extension and an ob.- tuse angular channel with said convexly curved face.

.3. A spike having its shank divided into four conveXly curved faces by four spirally extending fins, each fin being a rounded eX` tension of one of the adjacent curved faces and forming an obtuse angular channel With the `other of the adjacent curved faces.

4. A spike having its shank divided into four cenvexly curved facesby four spirally extending fins, one side of each fin being a rounded extension of one of the ad'acent curved faces and the other side a su stan- `tia-lly fiat surface forming a relatively sharp edge with said rounded' extension and an obtuse angular channel with the other of4 said adjacent curved faces.

y 5. A splke having a cylindrical-throat and a* shank provided with a convexly curved vface and a spiral 1in, one side of the fin be.

ing rounded transversel7 and the other side a substantially fiat sur we spike, as used Y throughout the specification and claims, 1s

forming an 0b-` tuse angular channel with said conveXly curved face.

6. A spike having a cylindrical throat, a conical point,V and a shank provided With a convexly curved face and a spiral fin, one side of the -fin being rounded and the other Yside a substantially flat surface forming an obtuse angular channel With said convex curved face, the fin fading avvay gradually into the said cylindrical throat at one end and into the said conical point at the other.

7. A spike yhaving a convexly curved face and a spiral iin, one side of the iin being rounded transversely and the other side of the iin forming an angularlchannel with said conveXly curved face. 8. A spike having a convexly curved face and a spiral fin, one side of the fin being a rounded extension'of the surface of the spike and the other side forming a relatively sharp edge With said rounded extension and an angular channel with said convexly curved face.

9. A spike having its shank divided into four c-onvexly curved facesby four spirally extending ns, each iin being a rounded eX- tension of oneof the adjacent curved faces and forming an angular channel with the other of the adjacent curved faces.

10. A spike having its shank divided into four convexly 'curved faces by four'spirally extending fins, one side of each iin being a rounded extension vof one of the adjacent curvedv faces and the other side a substantially flat surface forming a sharp edge with lsaid rounded extension and an angular channel With the other of said faces. f

11. A spike having a cylindrical throat anda shank provided with a convexly curved face and a. spiral fin, one side of the fin being rounded transversely and the other side a substantially flat surface forming an angular channel With said convexly curved face.

12. A spike having a cylindrical throat, a

adjacent curved conicalpoint, and a shank provided with a convexly curved face and a spiral fin, one side of the fin being rounded and the other sidea substantially flat surface forming an angular channel with said conveXly curved face, the iin fading away gradually into the said cylindrical throat at one end and into the said conical point at the other.

13. A spike having a substantially cylindrical throat, a con-vexly curved face and a spiral fin, one side of the iin being rounded and the other side of the n forming an angular channely with said convexly curved face :said'convexly curved face being gradually molded into and disappearing in said throat.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to vthis specification this 3rd day of March, 1919. r

MARCEL K1 SESSLER. 

